FEMA hiring freeze extended thru 2025
I picked this item of information up in an email someone sent me, “ FEMA has extended its hiring freeze through the end of 2025, raising alarms as the busiest part of hurricane season approaches. With leadership shakeups and staff departures, experts worry the agency may not be prepared for large-scale disasters.”
Assuming the above is true, it does not bode well for any one significant disaster or multiple disasters happening close to one another, like the five hurricanes that happened back-to-back in 2017.
The stars are lining up for a truly catastrophic federal disaster response should that big disaster happen. Per my earlier blog posts, the above combined with FEMA agency leadership coming from a no experience emergency management staff; one third of agency staff already dismissed from an already small agency; other experienced leadership gone from the department and importantly, a lack of executive leadership at the Department of Homeland Security. At that level we see more of a focus on “looking good” in tactical vests and painting the Southern Border wall black, than understanding the risks the nation faces from disasters—and how best to respond.
We really are in a July 2005 moment, just before Hurricane Katrina showed all the federal leadership weaknesses. I suppose they can try to blame the previous administration for all the changes that were made since January 2025.
